Hi guys. It has been a while since I was on the board last.

I put LS1 front brakes on my car last year. I am wondering if anyone else has had trouble with the LS1 calipers "spreading". By this, I mean the 3 "fingers" that rest on the outboard pad are bent so they are not parallel to the pistons anymore. A telltale sypmtom is the outboard brake pads wear with a taper (worn more on the outer edge than the edge closest to the hub). One of my calipers is so bad that the bridge is now noticeably bowed and the pistons are skewed in the bore.

 

Hi there, where you been? I haven't actually seen one up close but have heard numerous complaints on them. That's why I recommend other brakes over them, that's a bad thing to have to deal with.

Ed

 

I kind of lost interest in the board for a while. I still check in every now and then but don't post much anymore.

I will post a picture of how bad the LS1 caliper can spread as soon as I can have one of my kids loan me there camera. It's sad that my teenage kids have digital cameras but I don't.

I have abandoned the LS1 brakes since I see the caliper spread problem as a design flaw that cannot be fixed. I have a one of a kind setup on my car now using what I learned from the LS1 project. It consists of the stock thirdgen single piston calipers clamping a C4 front rotor. The calipers are mounted on a custom fabricated bracket (welded to a heavily modified factory J65 rear caliper bracket). I cut the spindles similar to the LS1/C4/C5/1LE setup but I think this bracket/spindle mounting setup is stronger than any of those because of the way I cut the spindles. I will post pictures soon and tell the whole story.

 

www.edealinfo.com They usually have good deals on electronics and stuff...

This is the main reason I don't recommend the LS1s over the C4 HDs for 16" wheel users...caliper spread. That and the bracket to spindle tolerances are so close it takes a lot of time to get it all to fit right.

I'd like to see what you've done, that setup sounds interesting. I'm 99% done on a Wilwood setup so I'll post pics when I go to those.

Ed

 

That's one of the reasons I decided to go with C4 HD's. A solution for you would be to upgrade to C5 calipers and use the LS1 bracket and rotors. I am not sure if the C5 caliper is taller, if it is taller it may not clear your wheels (if there stock).

 

C5 caliper is indeed taller due to the full ribs across the back of the caliper. It would be a solution if your wheel clearance isn't an issue.

Ed

 

I did consider the C5 caliper but decided against it for another big problem with this setup. I run a Hawk racing brake pad on my car (blue 9012 compound). These pads for the LS1/C5 calipers cost $190 a set! The Hawk blues for the stock caliper cost $100 a set. A 90% increase in cost, 0% increase in life, 0% increase in performance. I went through 3 sets of brake pads last summer which cost me $600. Even though the C5 caliper should not suffer from caliper spread, it still won't solve the high brake pad cost.

I just came back from Watkins Glen. The C4 setup I built did not perform like I hoped. I incinerated a set of brake pads (worn to the backing plates in 140 miles on the track), lots of fade when I pushed the car hard, rotors are ready for the trash can too. I expected more pad wear since I'm pulling more rotor surface area through the pads, but not like this.

I will be looking for the Wilwood pictures. I was checking out their calipers a few months ago. Caliper and pads are relatively inexpensive and it looks like mounting then on a bracket will be easy. I think next winter I will fab this setup for my car.

 

Are you using the LS1 setup for road racing? Has anyone had that spreading problem in a daily driver?

 

Yes, my car is a road race car. The brakes run at extreme temperatures with a lot of brake pedal pressure. I think this is aggravating the problem especially since aluminum softens/melts at much lower temperature than cast iron. I do not know about anyone having problems on the street. If so, I expect it would be much less severe.

Just FYI, I was at the race track Friday & Saturday and took a look at the calipers on an LS1 4th gen and buch of C5 Corvettes. The LS1 4th gen driver side caliper was beginning to spread (same one I had most of the trouble with). I did not see any C5 Vettes with caliper spread. If you are going to the LS1 setup you may want to consider using the C5 caliper instead. I think the stiffening ribs the entire width of the C5 caliper bridge are the solution to this problem.

 

The Z06 calipers are prob best bet. They are cast stronger, and they have the cooling ribs along the whole topside of the caliper, not just on the back like the LS1 calipers.

 

Thanks for replies. I guess I can swap to ls1 brakes, and be happy with that. My car is daily driver, not a racing car, so maybe those ls1 calpiers aren't big problem for me. Anyway, if they "spread" I'll upgrade to C5 calipers

 

Is this just a problem with LS1 calipers in general or just when mounted on a thirdgen?

Kevin

 

All LS1 calipers are subject to this, mounting on a 3rd gen will make no difference.

Ed